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Bareil Antos
Bareil Antos was a prominent Bajoran spiritual leader during the years immediately after the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor. He was the leading candidate to become the next kai after Opaka, but withdrew his candidacy shortly before the election took place, clearing the way for the elevation of Winn Adami to kai. He later played an important role in the negotiation of the first Bajoran-Cardassian Treaty, but died during the negotiations. Early life Bareil spent his early years living under the yoke of Cardassian rule. He grew up in the Relliketh refugee camp. ( ) At the age of five, Bareil met a Bajoran monk who grabbed him the first time on his ear, to feel his pagh. As a chronic misbehaver, Bareil became his favorite victim and the monk was able to "virtually squeeze the pagh out of his ear with his thumb and forefinger." ( ) During the waning years of the Occupation, Bareil became a gardener at the Bajoran Monastery of the Kai and his own goal was to plant the most beautiful Feloran bromiliads on the planet. However, he eventually devoted his life to the Prophets, becoming a vedek. ( ) Career After Kai Opaka disappeared in 2369, Bareil became the leading candidate to replace her in that role. Bareil spent the time before the election in seclusion, but was drawn to space station Deep Space 9 by his opponent, Winn Adami. He decided to visit the station after a school, run by Keiko O'Brien, was bombed by Bajoran fundamentalists who were against her teaching that the wormhole prophets were aliens. Bareil hoped to act as a peace mediator. While Bareil was aboard the station, Neela, a Bajoran crew member of DS9, attempted to assassinate him. The assassination attempt was really engineered by Vedek Winn, who wished to be kai and who wanted to eliminate her rival, Bareil. The attempt failed and Bareil was favored to be the next kai. ( ) Bareil aided Major Kira Nerys in exposing a plot to overthrow the Bajoran government by Jaro Essa and the Circle, who were unwittingly being aided by the Cardassians. Kira was hurt in a shuttle crash as she was trying to deliver evidence of the plot to the Chamber of Ministers. Bareil sent his aides to rescue Kira, had her wounds tended to at his monastery, and helped disguise her and Jadzia Dax as monks. Bareil accompanied the women to the Chamber of Ministers, where they presented evidence that foiled Jaro's coup. ( ) When Bareil was tied to the infamous Kendra Valley Massacre, he withdrew from consideration for kai, and Vedek Winn was elected. No one outside of Kira Nerys and a few other members of the DS9 crew knew that Bareil had taken the blame for Kai Opaka's role in the massacre. She had allowed her own son and forty-two other Bajorans to be killed during the Occupation to prevent over 1,200 deaths in the Kendra Valley. Bareil took the fall to protect Opaka's memory, although Kira acknowledged that he was too honorable a man to avoid facing the consequences of his mistakes. ( ) My' Bajoran had a past and a secret that Kira had to discover," stated Holland, pointing out two of the likenesses. Also, the man's discretion regarding the secret crime, which was the murder of Kira's father, was because he was covering for someone else. It was Ira Steven Behr who changed the character to Bareil, also making the crime be one of collaboration. "We had talked all year about Bareil becoming the next kai," remembered Behr. "All year! And during this conversation, we started talking about a collaborator, and I suddenly realized, 'We don't want Bareil as the kai. What the hell good is that going to do to us? He's a friend, and he's not going to cause any trouble for the Federation. " (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 147)}} In 2371, Bareil visited the station to celebrate the Bajoran Gratitude Festival. He became infected by Zanthi fever, which Lwaxana Troi had transmitted to those at the station party. This caused misplaced amorousness in people who had been near her, and caused latent, subconscious attraction to others. Bareil amorously chased Dax, became jealous of Benjamin Sisko, and hit Sisko; Dax subsequently punched Bareil. Doctor Bashir was able to cure him of the fever. ( ) After the election, Bareil joined Winn as her key adviser in negotiating the Bajoran-Cardassian Treaty. Bareil negotiated for five months with Legate Turrel. Just before the final treaty negotiations, he was injured in a plasma explosion on board a Bajoran transport. Dr. Bashir was able to bring him back from the brink of death, but needed to expose him to dangerous levels of neurogenic radiation in order to do so. Bashir told the vedek that he should be placed in stasis for an indefinite period of time, until a cure for the radiation damage could be developed. Bareil insisted that Bashir find another solution, so he could remain conscious to help Winn. Bareil believed the Prophets had spared him in the explosion so that he could ensure the success of the peace talks. Dr. Bashir, on the orders of Bareil, gave him an experimental drug that let him function for a few days. However, the drug did irreversible damage to the vedek's organs, leading to their replacement with implants. In spite of this, the damage spread, destroying part of his brain. At Kira's urging, Bashir replaced the damaged brain region with an artificial positronic implant, so that Bareil could continue to advise Winn. Soon after the peace treaty was signed, the remainder of Bareil's brain was destroyed. After Bashir gently refused to proceed with any further surgeries, saying he would fight Kira if he had to, Kira and Bashir decided to allow him to die, rather than replace his entire brain with a machine, for Bashir believed that, though Bareil would still look and talk like his old self, he wouldn't be himself. With Kira at his side, Bareil died shortly thereafter. ( ) Personal life Even after becoming a vedek, Bareil still loved to tend his garden. He also enjoyed playing springball. ( ) He became romantically involved with Major Kira Nerys in 2370, after meeting her during a visit to Deep Space 9. ( ) During the attempted coup led by Jaro Essa, Bareil's relationship with Kira started to blossom. After Kira was dismissed by Jaro from the space station, she stayed at Bareil's monastery. On Bajor, Kira and Bareil grew close, and Bareil allowed Kira to consult one of the Bajoran Orbs for guidance. She had a vision that showed her and Bareil as lovers. ( ) Bareil and Kira subsequently became lovers until his death. ( ) was being scripted, intimate aspects of Bareil's relationship with Kira were removed from early drafts of the script. Gary Holland felt strongly that what Bareil was undergoing elsewhere in the installment would seem to be of more concern to Kira if the episode portrayed exactly how close they had become, and the producers ultimately agreed with him, allowing for the previously excised elements to be reinstated. Holland also argued for Orb scenes involving Bareil to be in the episode. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, pp. 147-148)|The DS9 writing staff became dissatisfied with Bareil's relationship with Kira by the time the third season episode was being written. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 98) Finishing his romance with Kira proved to be one motive for writing the character of Bareil out of the series, in the later Season 3 installment . "This Bareil relationship, which should have been deepening the Kira character, did not seem to be fulfilling that requirement," related Ira Steven Behr. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106) Ronald D. Moore added, "We came to the conclusion that it was time to move away from the Bareil/Kira relationship anyway, because some people loved it, some fans, but we just didn't see it going anywhere. It didn't seem to have a lot of magnetism coming across on screen. Once that decision was made, that changed the whole complexion of the show." Robert Hewitt Wolfe commented that Bareil's importance in Kira's life meant his death had an impact on the viewers. (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 90)}} Appendices Appearances * ** (season 1) ** (season 2) ** ** ** ** (season 3) ** ** (mirror universe counterpart) (season 6) Additional references * ** ** ** ** Background information Bareil Antos was portrayed by actor Philip Anglim. Anglim commented, "What I found most interesting about the way Bareil was written and conceived, and what I found such a pleasure, was the lack of pomposity, the lack of self-satisfaction and self-righteousness that goes with so many people who claim the moral high ground." According to the script for "In the Hands of the Prophets", Vedek Bareil was described as "a short Bajoran man about fifty-five in religious garb." ... "Bareil is a soft-spoken and gentle man, somewhat reminiscent of Gandhi or the Dalai Lama." According to the script for "In the Hands of the Prophets" and "The Circle", the pronunciation of Bariel's name was "buh-RILE". An early name for Bareil was Eniyo. (The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) Writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe revised his original concept of Bareil, during development of DS9 Season 1 ender . "When I created Bareil in that script," he said, "I saw him as a wise old guy, sort of a Gandhi figure. And Michael Piller said, 'No, he should be young and vigorous.' I think he always saw Bareil as a romantic hero, so the relationship with Kira was more his idea than mine." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 81) Bareil's given name (which was not revealed until ) is a reference to the character Anton ("Tony") in , whose first name is actually of Polish origin. As the DS9 writing staff was unable to directly reuse that name for Bareil, Hans Beimler suggested changing it to the "Antos" alternative. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, pp. 510-511) The depiction of Bareil in displeased Ira Steven Behr. "I didn't think the Bareil stuff worked that well," he complained. (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 88) While was in development, Bareil conceptually replaced a young Federation ambassador, who was conceived as being akin to John F. Kennedy and was proposed in the original story document for the episode. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106; Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 90) As in the aired version of the installment, the diplomat was dying and arrived at DS9 aboard a damaged shuttle. (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 90) "The same things happen: he dies on the table, Bashir brings him back to life and then it becomes his gradual descent into madness – Frankenstein frankly," recalled Ronald D. Moore. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106) He specified about the character, "He becomes this monster that Bashir has to let die." As the DS9 writing staff was breaking the story in the break sessions, it became evident that two aspects of the character weren't working. "One was, 'Who is this guy? " noted Moore. The other was "Who really cares what happens to him?" (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 204) Essentially, Moore began to feel that the plot's central character, which would have been played by a guest star, wasn't important enough to make the audience care. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106) For a short time, the writers toyed with the concept of making the dying character Miles O'Brien, inspired by rumors that O'Brien actor Colm Meaney might be departing from the series. Ira Behr offered, "That's when Ron said, 'What about Bareil? " (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 204) Moore himself remembered, "As the audience I said, 'This guy should be Bareil. " (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 90) He further explained, "If this guy was Bareil ... then you've got Kira involved and it brings so much more to it." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106) There was some discussion about deciding what extent to make Bareil suffer in "Life Support". In the initial draft of the episode, the writers were going to torture him even more than they eventually did. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106; Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 90) "We were going to have Bareil's body completely collapse," Ron Moore reflected, "and they were going to put his brain in an android body, to go the next step and go for Frankenstein." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 90) Moore continued, "So by the end of the episode he was Frankenstein the monster, but I think Rick [Berman] felt that was taking it too far." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106) In their unofficial reference book Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages (p. 90), Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman liken Bareil in this imagined scenario to Spock in . Nonetheless, the decision to kill the character of Bareil had been made, partly because there was no impression in the DS9 production offices of him being a particular favorite with the show's fans. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 204) "I just felt that no one was dying to do a Bareil show," explained Ira Steven Behr. "We never got letters from fans saying 'We love Bareil' .... No one was losing sleep over Bareil. It just wasn't clicking." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106) Ron Moore concurred, "He served his purpose for a while, and then we felt that the character ... had run out of steam." Moore was actually instrumental in devising Bareil's death. "I killed Bareil," he announced. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 204) With a laugh, Bashir actor Alexander Siddig theorized, "Philip Anglim ... was making so many noises about leaving, that I think they just did him a favor and did it." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 43) As such, Bareil joined a long line of recurring characters (including K'Ehleyr and James T. Kirk) that Moore had killed off. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 204) In a manner that may have been only half joking, Robert Hewitt Wolfe declared, "Ron butchered my character, what can I say? .... That's a character payment I'll never see again." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 90) Philip Anglim was given little notification of Bareil's demise. "He didn't know, pretty much until he got the script, and that was that," noted Alexander Siddig. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 43) Although fans didn't initially respond much to Bareil, the audience had (in the words of Robert Wolfe) "gotten to know Bareil" by the time he was killed off in "Life Support". (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106; Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 90) Fan mail regarded the character in an extremely positive light after his life and recurring appearances were terminated. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 106) "Why they killed him off is the big question everyone asks me," Kira actress Nana Visitor offered. "I honestly can't figure that out." ( ) In fact, Bareil proved so popular with fans that there was a campaign to bring him back. Following the initial broadcast of "Life Support", the DS9 producers received lots of fan mail from a group they had previously neither heard of nor from: The Friends of Vedek Bareil. "We got pictures of a bunch of people at a memorial service for Bareil," René Echevarria acknowledged. "Very somber. Angry letters." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 204) The complaints over the death of Bareil were long-standing, more so than protests against a same-sex kiss in DS9 Season 4 installment . At about the end of the fourth season (in ), Robert Wolfe remarked, "The Bareil fans still write us letters." (Captains' Logs Supplemental - The Unauthorized Guide to the New Trek Voyages, p. 108) In March (prior to the airing of "Resurrection"), Ron Moore responded to the fan grievances, "I'm afraid that the truth is that the writing staff simply isn't interested in Vedek Bareil .... We can't really bring him back unless we, the writers, suddenly find a ... passion for the character and I don't think that's going to happen. The show is ultimately an expression of our particular likes and dislikes and unfortunately Bareil is not one of those 'likes.' The show has moved on and so has Kira." When "Resurrection" was under development, however, Ira Steven Behr started to feel a compulsion to temporarily return Bareil to the series. Behr later admitted about the episode, "Finally I said, 'It's a show that seems to be saying, make me a Bareil show, so let's just make it a Bareil show. " (Cinefantastique, Vol. 30, No. 9/10, p. 44) Behr decided to do so by resurrecting Bareil, mirror-universe style. Though Nana Visitor felt revisiting the romance between Kira and her late lover was slightly odd, it was not the case that she disliked the Bareil character. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 508) External links * * de:Bareil Antos es:Bareil Antos fr:Bareil Antos nl:Bareil Antos Category:Bajorans Category:Religious leaders